Comedy series similar to Community &c

[Darren_Garrison]

@Little_Nemo

Are you aware that Ward has started a new series called The Midnight Gospel?

Yeah. But I just don’t have an interest in podcasts, illustrated or otherwise.

[ISiddiqui]

@Little_Nemo

Are you aware that Ward has started a new series called The Midnight Gospel?

Unfortunately it is nothing like Adventure Time. I loved Adventure Time, but I watched two eps of The Midnight Gospel and dropped it.

[ebb]

@Isamu

Maybe, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia? The anti-Friends.

re ebbWhere Community puts good people into absurd situations and their shared values and affection bring them together, Always Sunny puts bad (but relatable) people (i.e., the worst of our own traits) into absurd situations where their twisted values force them apart, and condemn them to re-living their own mistakes. Good fun.

That’s a great analysis. It’s like carrying a negative sign all the way through the Community equation. Another flipped term is that in Always Sunny it’s almost always the group themselves that are their greatest enemy; the major conflicts come about from the characters acting very in-character as the awful people they are. And it’s hilarious.

@MrDibble

Gosh, that’s quite a good description of Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Great catch. That fits the formula exactly, and it’s also one of my favorite shows.

@Chingon

Harder to find streaming but Newsradio might fit for you.

Another good one in that mold. Phil Hartman’s character verges into Pierce Hawthorne territory, surely.

To go way, way back I think that both Cheers and Barney Miller have a similar vibe to them, although both shows break down more into major/minor characters, and Cheers certainly leans more heavily on romantic relationship based comedy.

Based on this thread it sounds like I should give Schitt’s Creek another try. I watched the first few episodes but it didn’t really hook me; it sounds like the characters get more relatable over time.

[Joey_P]

Second/third/forthing Better Off Ted. It was severely under rated or would be be on a lot of Top 10 lists if more people had a chance to see it while it was airing.
It’s similar to Arrested Development (though the Portia De Rossi connection may be guiding me to that comparison), but it’s considerably easier to swallow since it’s more funny/slapsticky than AD and like a sitcom wraps most things up in a half hour instead of requiring the viewer to juggle multiple, season long story lines.

Watch the first episode and you’ll probably get drawn right in.

[hogarth]

Another goofy ensemble comedy I haven’t seen mentioned is “What We Do In The Shadows”, about vampires sharing a house in Staten Island.

[Andy_L]

@Loach

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Andre Braugher is a national treasure. He was one of my favorite dramatic actors since Homicide. Brooklyn 99 showed what an incredible comedic actor he is. And of course there is also the star of the show, Cheddar.

I endorse B99 as well. Hitchcock and Scully are two halves of Pierce.

[Horatius]

@Joey_P

Second/third/forthing Better Off Ted. It was severely under rated or would be be on a lot of Top 10 lists if more people had a chance to see it while it was airing.
It’s similar to Arrested Development (though the Portia De Rossi connection may be guiding me to that comparison), but it’s considerably easier to swallow since it’s more funny/slapsticky than AD and like a sitcom wraps most things up in a half hour instead of requiring the viewer to juggle multiple, season long story lines.

Watch the first episode and you’ll probably get drawn right in.

Better Off Ted was great. I’d say the evil characters in BOT are more cartoonish evil, so it’s still pretty light fare. The humor/conflict comes more from the absurd, almost surreal, corporate shenanigans, than from the evil character’s actions.

[Joey_P]

@Horatius

Better Off Ted was great. I’d say the evil characters in BOT are more cartoonish evil, so it’s still pretty light fare. The humor/conflict comes more from the absurd, almost surreal, corporate shenanigans, than from the evil character’s actions.

Really though, the only evil character is “The Company” (and various Theys and Thems, referring to the unseen brass upstairs).

[Ashtura]

Parks and Recreation.

[Babale]

@ebb

Community features a group of largely co-equal characters with minor conflicts between them, while major conflicts are usually the group against some outside force. They are placed in situations which are often absurd from the viewpoint of the audience but are largely treated as normal, or at least only a bit out of the mainstream, by the world within the show. (This is often lampshaded for a laugh, but no one threatens to break the reality of the show by seriously protesting the logic of the situation). Most major conflicts in the show are resolved by the group coming together in an expression of their mutual affection and shared values despite their more surface level differences. Making the morally right choice is often punished in the short term but rewarded in the longer term.

The show you should watch that shares these traits is Parks and Recreation. It’s also very funny.

That was a great analysis of the show and also reminded me of the season 1 episode where Abed is so good at character analysis that his movies predict the future

[control-z]

Abed is a fan of Cougar Town and it’s actually a pretty good show after the first 5 or so episodes, sort of like Community. It’s overall pretty lightweight but I love the characters.

Another show that flew under the radar is Happy Endings, I think it only lasted 2 seasons but it was quirky and funny.

[Bryan_Ekers]

@MrDibble

Gosh, that’s quite a good description of Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine has the disadvantage of making the central character too wacky/awesome, i.e. his negative traits are presented as endearing and even the precinct captain who by all indications should have zero tolerance for hijinkery tolerates a truly absurd amount of it, because apparently he’s just a truly incredible detective when we’re not looking. It’s fine if you really like Andy Samberg. I found him rapidly tiresome and distracting. It’s as if Urkel was the show’s star from Day One.

[Loach]

@Bryan_Ekers

Brooklyn Nine-Nine has the disadvantage of making the central character too wacky/awesome, i.e. his negative traits are presented as endearing and even the precinct captain who by all indications should have zero tolerance for hijinkery tolerates a truly absurd amount of it, because apparently he’s just a truly incredible detective when we’re not looking. It’s fine if you really like Andy Samberg. I found him rapidly tiresome and distracting. It’s as if Urkel was the show’s star from Day One.

Analyze any of the other characters out of context of the show and they don’t make sense either. It’s not real life, it’s a sitcom.

[Dale_Sams]

@Loach

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Andre Braugher is a national treasure. He was one of my favorite dramatic actors since Homicide. Brooklyn 99 showed what an incredible comedic actor he is. And of course there is also the star of the show, Cheddar.

That sneaky bastard

[Sigmagirl]

A long time since I’ve watched it so I can’t give specifics, but Third Rock from the Sun.

[Isosleepy]

Allow me to recommend Silicon Valley. Smart funny.

[Darren_Garrison]

@control-z

Abed is a fan of Cougar Town and it’s actually a pretty good show after the first 5 or so episodes, sort of like Community. It’s overall pretty lightweight but I love the characters.

Meh. Too Americanized. I prefer the original Cougarton Abbey.

[GuanoLad]

Scrubs! It is very very Community-ish, and I suspect Dan Harmon was influenced by it without even realising it.

[pirviii]

Cheers was mentioned earlier, but I like Ted Danson’s next show Becker better. I would also mention Night Court for little more cartoony characters with heart.

[digs]

My favorite ‘Community meets Always Sunny’ show is AP Bio.

What about what I call the “Oh, that’s on, I’ll watch it!” shows? Like Modern Family. Interlocking family dynamics and plots that flow from the foibles of the great characters.

“Oh, that’s on” shows aren’t top-tier comedies, but thoroughly enjoyable… like The Big Bang Theory or Superstore.

~ ~

What about trying some less-Community-esque classics? Veep, Psych, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel…

Or my wife’s favorite of all time: Monk. (Mine’s the Dick Van Dyke Show… we’re watching his brother Jerry be hilariously pathetic and insecure right now).